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An NS train waiting on the tracks
An NS train waiting on the tracks - Credit: TahR78 / Wikimedia Commons - License: CC-BY-SA
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Hoogeveen
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Zwolle
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Hilde Wind
Sander Heling
Tuesday, 16 July 2019 - 16:00

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Train driver makes extra stop so woman doesn't miss her surgery

An NS conductor and train driver had the opportunity to prove their commitment to their clients recently when a woman from Assen accidentally got on the wrong train and therefore risked missing her surgery. The conductor rose to the challenge and arranged for the intercity train to make an extra stop in Hoogeveen, so that the woman could get to the hospital on time, AD reports.

Hilde Wind planned to board the train in Assen to go to Hoogeveen for a surgery at the Bethesda hospital. Instead she ended up on the intercity to Zwolle. "It must have been nerves that made me get on the wrong train", she said to RTV Drenthe. It was only when the conductor came to check her ticket that she realized her mistake. If she finished the trip to Zwolle and traveled to Hoogeveen from there, she would never reach the hospital on time.

Chief conductor Sander Heling did not hesitate. He spoke to the driver and traffic control and arranged for the train to make an extra stop in Hoogeveen. "I am very happy with the action of the conductor and the other people involved at NS. Without knowing all the details of my appointment, they decided to stop the train. That is very special", Wind said to the broadcaster. "If I had to go to Zwolle first, I would have missed my operation. I'm going to send them flowers."

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